Silent Shadows
by EmeraldRain25
Summary: After the loss of both his parents Ryoma goes to live with his child hood friend Atobe Keigo, whom he considers to be like a brother. After some persausion from Atobe, Ryoma decideds to enter at Ouran High School, where he meets none other than the prestigious Host Club.
1. Grey Skies

_**So I finally got the first chapter posted! I'm feeling very proud of myself now. anyway, this chapter just sorta kinda explains why Ryoma suddenly goes off to live in Japan and ends up attending Ouran instead of Seigaku.** _

_**To be honest I'm still working out most of the details such as if Ryoma will somehow meet the Seigaku Regulars and how. But for the main part Ryoma is 15 and in his first year of high school. Atobe is 17 going on 18. And yes I know Ryoma is actaully twelve in the Anime/Manga and Atobe is 14. I did this because Ouran is a High School. **_

**Summary**_**: After the loss of both his parents Ryoma goes to live with his child hood friend Atobe Keigo, whom he considers to be like a brother. After some persausion from Atobe, Ryoma decideds to enter at Ouran High School, where he meets none other than the prestigious Host Club. **_

**Warning**_**: Ummm, I'll post some when I think of them. **_

**Disclaimer**_**: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS OR OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB. **_

**Chapter 1**

**Grey Skies**

* * *

"_**Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? When it is misty, in the evenings, and I am out walking by myself, it seems to me that the rain is falling through my heart and causing it to crumble into ruins"**_

― _**Gustave Flaubert, November**_

Bare grey clouds glided through the skies overhead, blocking out the sun. A cold hollow wind blew through the thick winter clothes of everyone in the graveyard. A layer of fresh, glittering winter snow blanketed the barren ground everyone stood on.

In the middle of the otherwise deserted graveyard stood a small crowd of people. They were all situated in front of two small frost covered grave stones. A cold wind blew through the crowd, chilling everyone to the bone. The air was thick with tension, no one spoke.

The ceremony soon began, everyone standing silently. The priest said a few heartfelt words as two coffins were lowered into two separate graves. A look of sorrow passed across every person there. No one wanted to be there. No one wanted to be at a funeral for two very kind people.

The graves were soon filled back up with dirt. Each shovelful landing in the grave with a thump. The crowd watched with sorrow, some even starting to tear up. Each shovel of dirt sent the bodies closer towards heaven and farther from them. The couple was going to heaven. They were to kind to go to hell.

Once the graves were filled to the brim the priest stepped forward. He very carefully offered for anyone to say a few words. Only 2 from the crowd walked up to say something about the dead of couple. The others situated in the crowd prayed silently for the couple to reach heaven safely.

The priest finished with a final prayer. The crowd soon began to evaporate, each going their separate ways. A few stayed a few seconds to place flowers upon the grave, but left shortly after.

Soon the only person left was a small boy with jet black raven black hair with an emerald tint the glinted in the reflecting snow. His large golden cat-like eyes were screwed shut, holding back tears. His body shook with silent sobs as he stood in front of the graves.

Another boy, a couple years older walked up beside the grieving boy. He had violet hair with silver streaks and ice blue eyes. He rested a strong hand on the boys shoulder. "Otouto it's time to go."

The small boy just stood there, gaze never leaving the graves. "Do you think they're in a better place?" He asked, eyes still holding back long deserved tears.

The other boy just nodded as he stared silently at the graves. "Of course they are Ryo,"

The emerald haired boy just continued to silently sob. After a couple seconds he burst out into racking sobs, tears streaming from his hollow, grief stricken golden eyes. "Aniki why they have to die? Why did they leave me? They said they would never leave me! Why Aniki? Why?"

"I don't know Ryoma, I don't know," He answered truthfully, embracing the younger in a warm hug. The winter air was cold. "Ne Ryoma? Would you like to come live with me in Japan? I'm sure father wouldn't mind. We have lots of extra rooms."

"Really Keigo?" The boy asked, looking up at Keigo with tear filled eyes.

"Of course, I could never let my Otouto live alone. I could never, ever leave you anywhere to fend for yourself." Atobe smiled down at the younger boy, who he considered a brother. He wiped the tears from the boy's eyes with the sleeve of his jacket.

"I love you Niisan," Ryoma whispered hugging Keigo tightly as they walked away.

"I love you to Otouto." Together they walked away from the graves, neither looking back at the place where they had been standing seconds before. The graves were soon left to the gentle fall of snow, the clear black lettering standing out.

'_Here lies Rinko and Nanjirou Echizen'_

* * *

**A/N**

**Yes I know it's short, but please be patient with me.**

**Anyway I really do have very little ideas for where to take this story. I really would apprieciate to hear your ideas and advice.**

**So please review and tell me what you think and if there's anything you want to happen. I guarantee this will hep me get the next chapter out ten times faster.**


	2. What to Choose?

So I finally got the first chapter posted! I'm feeling very proud of myself now. I'm really sorry for not updating lately, but I'v finalyl got all my thoughts and ideas sorted out for this story. So I'm pleased to say I'll be updating a lot sooner now.

**Summary****:** After the loss of both his parents Ryoma goes to live with his child hood friend Atobe Keigo, whom he considers to be like a brother. After some persausion from Atobe, Ryoma decideds to enter at Ouran High School, where he meets none other than the prestigious Host Club.

**Warning****:** Language

**Disclaimer**: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS OR OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB.

**Chapter 2**

_What To Choose?_

* * *

**_"Enjoying what you know is fine, but it'll never hurt to explore. Try taking a step outside your comfort zone. See what the world has to offer."_**

**_(Unknown Quote)_**

"Che," Ryoma muttered irritably. "Why the hell does Japan have so many god-damned schools?"

He was currently browsing irritably through a load of pamphlets his brother had left him. Each one was for a different school in Japan. When he had asked his brother to maybe pick him up a couple of pamphlets from some schools so he could browse through some and look at the different schools he might want to attend, he hadn't imagined a pile so gigantic. It was simply huge.

School started in 1 week and he still hadn't decided on where to attend. It was Tuesday and he had till Friday to choose.

First things first; he began throwing away all the pamphlets that didn't mention a tennis team. By the time he had finished, the original pile had been reduced by more than half. Despite the pile being split in half there were still at least 20 pamphlets left.

After another hour he had finally narrowed it down to two choices; Seishun Gakuen and Rikkia Dai. Either the school his father had went to or the school famous for its superb tennis team.

Ryoma got up from the couch and looked out the living room window. It had stopped snowing.

_'Che, might as well go check out the schools. There's nothing better to do anyway'_ Ryoma thought. He quickly put on a pair of grey sweat pants and a simple black and white hoodie.

Once he made sure he would be warm enough he headed out to the train station. For no reason in particular other than he hated to make a scene Ryoma generally disliked riding in one of the many limo's Keigo owned. The exact opposite of his 'brother'.

Thankfully he didn't have to wait long for the train. Since he lived generally closer to Seishun Gakuen, he decided to start there. The bus ride took about 15 minutes. Getting off the bus, he began his walk towards the school. He began to wonder if anyone would actually be there, it was Christmas Break and all.

He began to make his way towards the back of the school and wasn't surprised to find the school grounds empty. Overall the grounds were fairly nice. Everything was covered in a fine blanket of freshly fallen, glistening snow. Ryoma would never actually admit it but the scene took his breath away. As a small breeze blew by he shivered and drew his hoodie tighter around him, effectively keeping out the cold. Deciding he should make this quick he continued on his way towards the back.

The school itself was average; it wasn't to big or to small. When he reached the back he made his way towards the tennis courts. He found himself feeling oddly disappointed when he found them empty. But what was he expecting? It was the middle of winter of course there would be no one practising!

_'Now what?' _He thought to himself. It was eerily quiet on the courts. The only sound was the gentle breeze of the wind, which had picked up a bit and was now blowing the snow around in gentle waves. Ryoma just stood there contentedly, when suddenly the sound of a tennis ball making contact with a racket reached his ears.

His head shot up in the direction the sound was coming from. He began making his way towards a smaller building beside the school. One of the large double doors was slightly ajar. He got close enough to carefully peak inside. A blast of warm air from the inside suddenly hit his face and he gasped slightly. Thankfully it didn't seem like anyone from inside had heard him.

When he looked inside he was surprised to see two tennis matches going on. What was even more surprising was that they were actually quite good. The first match was between a guy with spiky-black hair and violet eyes, who was obviously a power player and another guy who black hair and green eyes, he almost reminded Ryoma of a snake.

The second match was between a guy who was fairly tall and had fairly short spiky black hair, who was also wearing glasses which obscured his eyes and a guy with vivid red hair that flipped out and blue eyes. The red head was jumping around the court like there was no tomorrow and the guy with glasses seemed to be able to predict where the red-head would hit his shots.

_'Huh, an acrobatic and data player'_ Ryoma thought with interest. It was then that he caught sight of the staircase beside the doors that seemingly led to a mezzanine. Guessing it was probably warmer in the gym than outside he swiftly squeezed through the gym doors and climbed the steps to the mezzanine. He took a seat on the bleachers and continued to watch the team practise with interest.

* * *

Fuji was watching Eiji's and Inui's game with interest when his sharp eyes suddenly picked up movement at the gym doors. He turned his head and found himself watching a young boy,who looked no older than 14 or 15 sneak quietly into the gym and up to the mezzanine.

He found himself smiling with amusement when the boy took a seat in the mezzanine and continued to watch their practise._ 'Interesting..' _He thought and lightly nudged Tezuka.

When Fuji got Tezuka's attention he nodded upwards towards the mezzanine. Tezuka followed his gaze to where he was pointing and Fuji's smile widened when he saw Tezuka's eyes narrow ever so slightly.

Tezuka, as if reading his mind, nodded in approval. Fuji slowly made his way over to the staircase, careful not to draw any attention to himself. Thankfully though the boy seemed to be to focused on the matches going on to pay him any attention.

He climbed the staircase and snuck up behind the younger male. He smile mischievously. "Saa, enjoying yourself?" Fuji whispered in the kid's ear.

Fuji took great pleasure in watching the kid jump in surprise, spinning around to face him. The kid's face held a look that was somewhere between shock and embarrassment at being caught. The kid had black-ish, emerald hair and cat like golden eyes.

Fuji couldn't place it, but for some reason the kid looked familiar, but from where? Where had Fuji seen the kid?

* * *

Ryoma was so focused on the games below that he nearly jumped out of his skin when the sudden voice sounded behind him. He jumped up and spun around to come face to face with one of the guys he had seen watching the game from the sidelines.

_'Is he also on the team?' _Ryoma thought with interest, but was outwardly glaring at the man.

"Yes I'm also on the team," Fuji responded. It took Ryoma a minute to realize he had actually asked that out loud. Ryoma blushed and pulled down his cap to hide his face.

"So what do you think of our practise?" Fuji asked and smiled when Ryoma glared at him. Ryoma opened his mouth to spit back some comment on how creepy the guy's smile was when he was jumped on; literally.

"Nya Fujiko! Who's this?" The red-hed exclaimed.

"Saa.." Murmered Fuji, tilting his head at Ryoma who was struggling to breathe; Eiji was currently suffocating him.

"Hey Eiji-Sempai! Who are you talking to?" Momo shouted demanding and climbed up the steps, only to stare quizzically at the three.

Ryoma who had been struggling to breathe in Eiji's suffocating grip had finally managed to break free . He now stood, panting heavily, hands on his knees. By the time he had steadied his breath the rest of the regulars had made their way up to the mezzanine.

"I don't know, I think he's one of Fuji's friends," Eiji replied. Everyone but Tezuka turned to stare at the tensai quizzically.

Fuji just shrugged. "I don't know his name," Fuji explained, smiling.

Now everyone turned to stare at the person at question. Ryoma just stood glaring at everyone and eyeing the red-head suspiciously, as if Eiji would jump on him at any given moment.

"Nya what's you're name?" Eiji shouted loudly.

Oishi stepped forward. "Eiji! Don't be rude," Oishi scolded lightly, causing Eiji to quiet down.

Ryoma rolled his eyes at the two. Tezuka, who saw this, stepped forward.

"What were you doing watching our practise?" He asked bluntly.

Smirking Ryoma just shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't know it was illegal to watch a tennis practise," Ryoma shot back.

_'Cocky' _Tezuka thought with a frown. "What's your name?" He asked, voice calm.

Everyone watched silently as Tezuka confronted the boy. Everyone noticed how the boy's smirk just seemed to grow with every passing minute.

"Why do you want to know?" Ryoma shot back.

"For all we know you could be a spy sent from another school," Tezuka replied.

Everyone stood silently waiting to hear what the boy would say next.

Ryoma stood frozen in thought. Should he tell this boy his name? Or should he refuse again? Or maybe... Ryoma's phone suddenly sounded from inside his pocket. He took it out and looked at the screen._ 'Che, what does Keigo want?' _He thought irritably, pressing ignore and turning down the volume on his phone.

"Play a match against me," Ryoma demanded, shocking everyone. "If you win I'll tell you my name. If you lose you have to treat me to burgers."

Tezuka's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "No." He said firmly.

Ryoma shrugged. "Whatever, your loss."

"I'll play him, Tezuka-Buchou," Momoshiro spoke up, stepping forward.

Ryoma eyed the guy in front of him and Tezuka thought for a moment.

"Fine," Tezuka agreed.

Ryoma and Momo stepped on to the court and everyone else stood watching curiously from the sidelines.

"You sure about this Sempai?" Ryoma asked. "I didn't know you were so eager to spend all your money on some burgers for a freshman."

Momoshiro chuckled heartily. "You shouldn't be so cocky, you really shouldn't," Momo shot back, shaking his head. "Rough or smooth?"

"Smooth," Ryoma answered. Momo spun the racket, it landed on smooth.

"You're serve," Momoshiro got into position on the baseline and Ryoma got ready to serve.

Fuji watched curiously as the boy got ready to serve. The look on the boy's face told Fuji he was up to something. His suspicions were confirmed true when the boy served. Fuji's blue porcelain eyes opened in surprise.

"Tw-Twist Serve!" Eiji shouted.

Fuji smiled._ 'What an interesting kid!' _He thought joyfully

* * *

"Game and match, 6 games to 3,"

All the regulars were staring with wide disbelieving eyes. The kid had just beat one their regulars in less than 15 minutes.

Momoshiro stood panting heavily, arms hanging by his side. Ryoma approached him. He was also sweating but not as much as Momoshiro.

"Mada mada dane Sempai," Ryoma shook Momo's hand.

"You should respect your sempai , you should," Muttered Momoshiro, but he was smiling nevertheless.

Ryoma headed off the court and too his stuff. He looked down at his phone. _4 New Messages and 5 missed calls._

_'Che Keigo is really persistent when he wants to be,' _Ryoma opened his phone up and read the messages.

_'Ryoma, where are you? Why aren't you answering my calls?'_

_'Pick up your phone!'_

_'Where the hell are you? Did you forget that Outo-san is taking us out to some fancy New Years dinner party of his at 4?'_

_'Get your tennis obsessed ass home this instant! We're leaving soon! Hurry up!'_

Ryoma froze, his eyes widening. He had completely forgot about the party tonight! "Shit! Keigo's going to kill me!' He quickly stuffed all his things in his bag and threw on his jacket.

"Hey, where are you going ochibi?" Shouted the red-head.

"Sorry, but I can't go get burgers tonight. Look's like you'll have to pay of your debt some other time Sempai," Ryoma explained. "Oh, and just so you can find me, My names Echizen Ryoma."

The regulars all watched mystified as the kid rushed out of the gym.

"Saa, how interesting," Fuji murmured. He had been sure he had heard the kid say 'Keigo', as in Atobe Keigo.

Tezuka turned to Inui who was flipping through one of his notebooks. "What do you have on the kid?"

Inui finally stopped at one page. "Echizen Ryoma, also known as the Prince of Tennis or Samurai Jr. He is the son of legendary tennis player Samurai Nanjirou. He grew up in America and has won four consecutive titles in the American Junior Tennis tournaments – all in a little over a year. He earned the label 'prodigy' by the age of twelve. He has recently turned 15. His good looks and confidence make him highly popular with ladies, although he seems not to notice, having his focus exclusively on tennis," Inui stated.

"Wow, Ochibi is that famous?" Eiji breathed.

Fuji thought for a moment. '_That's it! Echizen Ryoma! I remember hearing that name on the news 4 weeks ago!'_

_"_Inui, do you have any information on why he came to Japan?" Oishi asked. Inui nodded.

"It would seem that 4 weeks ago his parents died in a car-crash," Inui paused, not being able to read over the loud gasps of all the regulars except for Tezuka who doesn't gasp and Fuji who already knew. "It seems he was then adopted into his childhood friend Atobe Keigo's family. He has been in Japan for 2 weeks. That's all I have."

Fuji's eyes opened in shock and recognition. The event had been all over the news 4 weeks ago. He had wondered what kind of kid had made _The_ Atobe Keigo fly all the way to America just to convince his father to adopt the kid into their family.

"Okay everyone back to practise!" Tezuka turned to everyone. "Don't let your guard down!"

* * *

Ryoma and Atobe sat in the back of a limo, both dressed in highly expansive suits. Atobe glared at Ryoma who sat across from him.

"I hope you're happy to know that I had to cover for you when you were off wandering the city," Atobe grumbled.

"Wow, you have it so hard," Ryoma shot back. "And just so you know I wasn't 'wandering the city'. I was checking out Seishun Gakuen to see if I'd be interested in attending school there."

Atobe scrunched up his nose at the words Seishun Gakuen. "I still don't know why you insist on attending such plebian schools when you could just attend..."

Ryoma cut him off. "We've been over this a thousand times. I'm not going to Hyotei, so you might as well just get over it."

Atobe leant back against his seat. "So anything interesting happen at Seigaku?"

Ryoma shrugged, not really wanting to go into details on his visit to Seishun Gakuen. "Not really," Ryoma replied back.

The limo was then plunged into a comfortable silence.

_'Tomorrow I'll go visit Rikkia,' _Ryoma decided. His thoughts however were interrupted as they arrived at the party

* * *

**A/N**

So next chapter will be Rikkia and probably some more Seigaku, maybe though. I still havent completely decided. Also I'll be posting a pairings poll so please check it out :)

Oh and please review :)

Any ideas appreciated!


	3. To Lose

So here's the next chapter. Check out the pairings poll on my profile page! :)

**Summary:** After the loss of both his parents Ryoma goes to live with his child hood friend Atobe Keigo, whom he considers to be like a brother. After some persausion from Atobe, Ryoma decideds to enter at Ouran High School, where he meets none other than the prestigious Host Club.

**Warning****:** Language

**Disclaimer**: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS OR OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB.

**Chapter 3**

_To Lose_

* * *

**_'I never thought of losing, but now that it' s happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.'  
_**

**_-Muhammad Ali_**

_So this is __Rikkaidai Fuzoku._

Ryoma stood in front of the incredibly large school gates, surprised at the sheer size of the building in front of him. The building had to be at least twice the size of Seigaku!

Ryoma had come to check out the school known for its superb tennis team. He had spent over an hour riding a stinking bus and he had finally arrived. There was only one thing hindering him from checking the school out; the freaking gates were locked.

"Just my luck!" Ryoma muttered with contempt. Then deciding he hadn't spent over an hour on that stupid bus for no reason, he began to look for another way in. After searching for a total of five minutes and finding no other entrances, he came to only one conclusion.

_'Guess I have to scale the fence!'_

Ryoma quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching him. Seeing no one, he began his ascent upwards. When he reached the top, he carefully swung his legs over so that he was now on the other side. Looking down, he shrugged, before jumping off the fence. He landed with a soft thud on the ground.

As he stood up he made sure to straighten out his clothes, brushing off any snow that had collected on his jacket from the gates.

When he deemed himself presentable, he began to make his way towards the back of the school. He had no idea why, but for some reason he knew_ -knew- _the tennis team would be practising; even in the middle of winter.

His suspicions were confirmed true, when once again, the sound of a racket hitting a tennis ball could clearly be heard.

Ryoma followed the noise until he came to a halt in front of two large double doors. The doors were closed, but he could still clearly hear the sounds of tennis balls being hit.

Deciding to take a much, different, approach than when he had visited Seigaku the day before, he swung the doors open and walked in.

* * *

Sanada, who had been busy critiquing (_ChoughYellingCough_) Niou and Murai' as the played against eachother, stopped as the doors were flung open. In walked a young boy with the most arrogant smirk set on his face. The boy had dark emerald hair and golden eyes.

Sanada's eyes narrowed. What was a boy doing in here? He had made sure to firmly lock the gates when the team had arrived. Just as he was about to say something though, Yukimura stepped forward, effectively beating him to it.

"Excuse me, but I do believe this is private property," Yukimura stated, as polite as ever.

The boy only smirked, taking another step forward. "Saa, mabey you need better security measures?" The question came out sounding a lot more like a statement; like the boy was intentionally _trying_ to mock them.

_'Arrogant,' _Sanada thought with a heavy frown.

Yukimura only smiled at the boy's comment. This caused Sanada to shake his head in defeat.

_'Great, just great! Yukimura seems to be amused by all this!' _

* * *

Yukimura was indeed, amused, by the boy. In fact, he found the boy quite entertaining and an interesting break in the teams regular routine.

"Speak more respectful to Mura-Buchou!" Ah Kirihara, ever the one to stand up for his favourite (_CoughOnlyCough_) captain. Yukimura made a mental note to reward Kirihara later.

"Relax Akaya, let us see what the boy wants before you decide to beat the snot out of him," Yukimura intervened, his voice sweet, a little to sweet for everyone's liking. Kirihara grumbled something under his breath, but did as he was told.

"What's your name?" Yukimura questioned.

The boy seemed to pause for a second before shrugging; as if to say 'to hell with it'.

"Echizen Ryoma." As the boy stated his name Renji instantly stepped forward.

"Echizen Ryoma, also known as the Prince of Tennis or Samurai Jr. He is the son of legendary tennis player Samurai Nanjirou. He grew up in America and has won four consecutive titles in the American Junior Tennis tournaments – all in a little over a year. He earned the label 'prodigy' by the age of twelve. He has recently turned 15. His good looks and confidence make him highly popular with ladies, although he seems not to notice, having his focus exclusively on tennis," Renji stated, "It would seem that 4 weeks ago his parents died in a car-crash, he was then adopted into his childhood friend Atobe Keigo's family. The two consider each other to be brothers. He has been in Japan for 2 weeks. Last night he attended a New Years party at-"

"I think we get the point Renji," Yagyuu interrupted the data master.

"Saa you are a lot smarter than that guy from Seigaku," The boy stated, causing everyone to stare at him with curiosity. Ryoma of course couldn't help, but be a little creeped out by how much the guy knew about him. '_Stalker' _was his first thought.

Yukimura stepped forward so he was face to face with the boy. "What is it that you seek here so badly, that you deem it fit to interrupt our practise?" Although his voice was stern, he was smiling on the inside.

"Play a match with me," The boy commanded. It was then that Yukimura noticed the tennis bag that hung off the boy's shoulder.

"Now why would I do that?" Yukimura pressed. This was getting better by the second. From the corner of his eye Yukimura could see Sanada tensing, barely able to hold back from yelling at the kid. This only caused Yukimura to enjoy the situation a lot more. It was unusually rare to see the vice-captain so distressed.

The boy seemed to be dep in thought for a minute, before a smirk once again occupied his face. "I'll tell you how I got in if you do."

Yukimura actually smiled this time. "You strike a good bargain," He agreed. "Fine. Sanada, if you would please?" Yukimura motioned to the referee chair beside one of the courts.

* * *

Ryoma smiled when the guy agreed. He wasn't fooled by Yukimura's soft, feminine looks. He knew that behind that soft, angelic face, was the face of a demon, a monster. That one fact alone only made Ryoma want to play him more.

He shrugged off his winter coat and sweatpants. Stepping onto the court with his red racket held firmly in his hands, he approached the net.

"Rough or smooth?" He asked.

"Smooth," The guys voice was sweet, to sweet. Ryoma spun the racket; it landed on rough.

"Your serve."

Ryoma nodded as both of them got into position on opposite ends of the court. Deciding it wouldn't be good to underestimate the guy, Ryoma came to the decision to start off with a Twist Serve.

He tossed the ball up, jumping up after it a seconds later. His racket made contact with the small, green ball. The force of the hit sent the ball sailing across the net, it landed on the ground then suddenly shot back up, missing Yukimura's face by inches.

"15-Love."

Needles to say, everyone watching was stunned. Everyone except Yukimura and Renji.

Yukimura smiled. "What a neat serve you have."

Ryoma narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you take off that jacket you're wearing and play me seriously?"

"Make me," Those two words hit Ryoma like a ton of bricks. This guy was challenging him, testing him. Ryoma, not one to back away from a challenge, smirked. He would make this guy take him seriously if it was the last thing he did.

...

"1 Game to Love." Ryoma smiled, well more like smirked. He had taken the first game.

This time Yukimura served. He sent a simple serve towards Ryoma, which Ryoma shot right back at him. Next he sent the ball flying towards the opposite corner that Ryoma was in.

Ryoma, suspecting the return, sent the ball back towards Yukimura, this time aiming for the left side of the court. Yukimura sped up, sending the ball right back towards Ryoma.

Ryoma, who could tell Yukimura was still going easy on him, quickly did a drop shot. Yukimura was forced to run forward, barely returning it. This time Ryoma sent a lob. Yukimura, who was now at the front of the net, rushed back. He jumped straight up sending a smash straight towards Ryoma.

Ryoma was unable to return it, but didn't look upset in the slightest. Instead he was looking at the jacket that had fallen off Yukimura's shoulders and was now laying on the ground. Ryoma glanced towards Yukimura, only to see him suddenly serious.

The jacket was removed from the court. Yukimura turned to face Ryoma, a cruel glint now in his eyes. "You want me to play seriously? I'll grant you that wish, but be prepared boy."

* * *

Ryoma lay spread eagle wide on the ground. His breath came in short, rough, pants. Sweat trickled down his face, legs and arms. His eyes were closed tightly and his smirk was replaced with a frown. He had been completely and utterly defeated.

The final score had been 6 games to 1. The match had only lasted a total of 15 minutes. Ryoma didn't know what had happened. One minute he had been playing great then the next minutes he was doing horrible. He had slowly lost his sense of touch, followed by his sight, then his hearing, until the world around him had turned black. When he opened his eyes again the match had been over and he had lost.

For some strange reason though, he didn't feel upset by the loss. On the contrary; it felt exhilarating. He could still feel the adrenaline from the match pumping through his body, sending a tingling feeling across his skin.

He had never known losing to feel so sensational, so enchanting, so_ breathtaking_. It was the first time in his life that losing simply felt amazing.

* * *

Yukimura had stayed true to his words when he said he would play seriously from that point on. |The boy had put up a good struggle and Yukimura had been quite impressed by the boy's raw talent. But in the end, Yukimura had undoubtedly, undeniably, won.

He walked towards the net to see the boy laying on the ground, panting heavily. He expected the boy to be heart-broken by the loss, so when a smile spread across the boys face, to say the least, he was a bit confused.

Why was the boy smiling so brightly after losing so badly?

He waited until Ryoma gained the strength to stand, before he held out his hand. Ryoma, who was still smiling, grasped Yukimura's hand in his own. They were shaking hands when Ryoma's phone rang from inside his coat pocket beside the court. (I wonder who that could be?)

Ryoma headed towards the phone, flipping it open and pressing it to his ear.

"Hello?" He greeted.

_"You're not at home."_

"Really I didn't seem to notice."

_"Che, Brat. Where are you?"_

"Rikkiadai,"

_"Why didn't you leave a note saying where you'd be going?"_

"I did."

_"No you most certainly did not! If you did I would be able to find it!"_

"Did you check on the fridge?"

_"..."_

"Baka Monkey King."

_"Insolent brat, do not call me such a plebian name! Anyway, you'd better get home, Oka-san wants to go out for dinner tonight."_

"Okay, okay. I'll be home soon."

With that he hung up, only to see eight pairs of eyes staring at him curiously.

"Sorry, got to go," He said, putting his sweatpants and jacket back on.

"You forget your end of the deal. I played you, so now you must tell us how you managed to get in," Yukimura spoke up.

Ryoma headed towards the doors, turning to face them with a smirk. "You should make your gates a little taller. They're awfully easy to climb over." Ryoma quickly left, shutting the large door behind him.

Niou who had watched everything with a smirk on his face, chuckled. "I like that kid!" He claimed, smiling.

A loud laugh suddenly filled the gym. Everyone turned around, surprised to see Yukimura laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.

'_What an interesting brat!' _He thought with a smile, his laughter echoeing around the gym_. 'Echizen Ryoma eh? I have no doubt in my mind we will meet again!'_

* * *

N/A

Ta-Da! How'd ya like it. Sorry I kind of suck at writing tennis matches. Okay, I kinda suck a lot, but other than that, how did I do?

Please Review and check out the pairings poll on my homepage! That is, if you haven't already voted.

Oh, and don't forget to please review!


	4. A Third Option?

So here's the next chapter. Check out the pairings poll on my profile page! :) It will close at the end of the next chapter, so vote now!

**Summary:** After the loss of both his parents Ryoma goes to live with his child hood friend Atobe Keigo, whom he considers to be like a brother. After some persausion from Atobe, Ryoma decideds to enter at Ouran High School, where he meets none other than the prestigious Host Club.

**Warning****:** Language

**Disclaimer**: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS OR OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB.

**Chapter 4**

_A Third Option?_

* * *

**_My father used to say superior people never make long visits._**

_-Marianne Moore _

Ryoma sat in the back of one of Atobe's stretch limo's. Yesterday Atobe had made arrangements with their father for Ryoma to come and watch one of Hyotei's tennis practises; no doubt in another attempt to convince the younger to attend Hyotei.

Ryoma's brow twitched in annoyance. Why couldn't Keigo understand that he was, under no circumstances, _ever_ going to Hyotei?

"We're here, Young Master Ryoma."

Ryoma looked up to see the Limo Driver holding the door open for him. He nodded his thanks to the driver as he stepped out of the limo. "Feel free to leave, knowing Keigo, he probably already has a limo scheduled to pick him up after his practise."

The driver nodded. "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Ryoma."

Ryoma nodded, a faint, barely noticeable blush, now covering his cheeks. "Che, I told you not to call me that," He muttered, heading towards the school gates.

"H-Hai!" He heard the driver stutter and only rolled his eyes. No matter how many times he expressed his dislike at being called Young Master, the maids and butlers still continued to do it. You'd think they'd be a bit more obedient?

Ryoma stood in front of the school, an irritated twitch in his eye. If Rikkiadai was more than double Seigaku, than that meant Hyotei was more than 10 times the size either school. And he had thought Rikkidai was huge! Ryoma shook his head.

_'I guess you should never underestimate the power of money and private schools,'_ Ryoma thought with a slight shake of his head. _'Now it's time to find the courts!'_ Ryoma just about groaned. The school looked like a maze, inside a maze, inside a freaking maze!

"Oh well, might as well start somewhere," He concluded and headed towards the back. On his way he tried numerous buildings, none of which were the tennis courts. So far he had seen, an indoor baseball field, indoor badminton courts, indoor gym for basketball, indoor theater, indoor cafeteria, indoor soccer field, football field, and rugby field. He had also seen what looked like a cat-walk for fashion shows.

"Why does one school need so many freaking buildings?" He grumbled irritably. He had been walking around for almost 30 minutes now and was not amused.

God must have taken pity on him, because at that moment the ever so familiar sound of a tennis ball, hitting a racket, reached his ears. "Thank the heavens!" He whispered under his breath.

...

Atobe sat on the bleachers beside the indoor tennis courts. All the regulars sat around him. That is everyone except Jirou and Shishido, who were busy playing a match on one of the courts below.

"You call this tennis? Ore-sama is disgusted to see Ore-sama's regulars playing so horribly on Ore-sama's courts!"

Shishido continued to ignore all of Atobe's comment, choosing to instead focus on the game.

"Shishido, do you even_ know_ the rules of tennis? Why don't you try to hit the ball_ in_ the court, would you?" Atobe sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.

Shishido felt his eye twitch in annoyance. Sometimes Atobe could be just a little too bossy and self-absorbed.

"Ore-sama would like to know how you even managed to become a regular! Ore-sama knows you don't give up, but you're really sucking all over Ore-sama's courts right now." Atobe once again spoke up.

That was the final straw for Shishido. He spun around and glared up at Atobe. "Would you shut up already? Also, why are you only critiquing me? Jirou's playing too you know!" Shishido yelled out, frustrated at how Atobe only seemed to focus on how badly _he_ was playing and how _he_ was sucking all over 'Ore-sama's courts'.

"Mada mada dane," The laugh that echoed around the indoor courts was full of amusement and not to mention arrogance. Everyone spun around, searching for where the voice had come from. Looks of confusion and surprise were reflected on everyone's faces when the only person that could be seen was a boy, no older than 15.

Everyone was so focused on the boy, that no one noticed how the great Atobe Keigo's eyes nearly popped out of his head in surprise.

"This is a private practise," Shishido commented, eyes narrowing furiously when the brat completely ignored him.

Ryoma, who was watching Atobe, smirked. "Monkey King forgot I was coming, didn't he Kabaji?" Ryoma turned to look over at Kabaji, who was seated beside Atobe.

"Usu."

If everyone hadn't been surprised before, they sure were now. Kabaji answering to someone besides Atobe? It was simply unheard of! Also, who was Monkey King? Most of them had already guessed the boy was talking about Atobe, but some were unsure. After all, no one had ever, and they mean EVER, had dared to talk to Atobe Keigo like _that_.

"Brat. If Ore-sama has told you once he has told you a million times, to refrain from calling Ore-sama by such a horrid name!" Atobe tried to recall why the brat would be here instead of playing with his cat at home. His eyes widened in realization when he remembered that it had been _him_ (Atobe) who had ordered the brat to attend Hyotei's team practise!

Now everyone was looking furiously back and forth between Atobe and the boy. Wondering what kind of kid the boy had to be to not only get Kabaji to answer him, but to also insult the ever famous Atobe Keigo of Hyotei.

"Atobe, would you mind introducing us to your apparant...friend?" Oshitari spoke up, trying to stifle his laughter at the look on his friends face.

Atobe sighed, but nodded. "Everyone meet Ore-sama's brother, Ryoma Echizen," Atobe nodded towards the smirking Ryoma. "Brat, meet Ore-sama's team."

"What? Atobe has a brother?" Gakuto shouted.

"Wow, all this time I thought Atobe was too arrogant to have any siblings," Shishido muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Sugoi! Who would have guessed Atobe had a brother?" Jirou exclaimed excitedly, for once not sleeping.

"I thought for sure that Atobe was an only child," Choutaro nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Atobe's arrogance does make it seem unlikely for him to have any siblings," Oshitari agreed, smiling.

"Are you all done insulting Ore-sama?" Atobe frowned at his team-mates.

Oshitari nodded, still smiling. "Yes, I believe so."

"Thank you," Atobe muttered. "Ore-sama and the brat are not related by blood. Ryoma was adopted into Ore-sama's family." A look of realization passed across everyones faces.

Ryoma rolled his eyes at the teams banter. "So are you going to practise or what?"

Atobe nodded. "Since Shishido decided he would like to forfeit the game ("I did not!"), Gakuto, you will now be playing against Oshitari." The two nodded and stepped onto the court to commence their game.

"Let's see what Hyotei is capable of," Ryoma whispered under his breath, a smirk drawn across his face.

...

To be perfectly honest, Ryoma had been impressed by Hyotei's skills. Of course they still had lots more to work on, but overall, they were a pretty good team. At least that's what he thought as he climbed into the limo after Atobe.

"So what did you think of my team?" Atobe asked. Ryoma shrugged, he still had no idea why Atobe insisted on addressing himself as Ore-sama in public, but when they were alone he reverted back to I or me.

"Their okay," He began, noticing the look of hope that flashed across Atobe's face. "But that still doesn't mean I'm going to Hyotei," Ryoma finished, watching the look of hope on Atobe's face vanish.

"Hey brat?" Atobe started, but was cut off by Ryoma.

"Yes Monkey King?" He shot back.

"Ryoma!" Atobe snapped and Ryoma was suprised by the serious tone in Atobe's voice. Not to mention the fact that Atobe almost never addressed him by his given name. Ryoma shut up and looked at his brother.

"Since you insist on going to anyplace, but Hyotei, I would advise you to think about a third option," Atobe explained, eyes narrowed.

"If you're talking about homeschooling you can forget about it," Ryoma spoke up, voice determined, mabey even a little defiant?

"No, I'm not talking about homeschooling," Atobe rolled his eyes. "Since I don't want you attending either Seigaku or Rikkiadai, and you refuse to attend Hyotei, where I'd be able to watch over you and make sure you stay out of trouble- I encourage you to consider one more school."

"Eh, and what would that be?" Ryoma was wondering why Atobe was being so vague.

"Ouran High School."

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A/N

A thanks to hprareslashfan for helping me with this chapter :P It was her idea for Ryoma to visit Hyotei.

The pairings poll will be closed 3 days after the next chapter is posted.

BTW The poll, Kyoya is in first place, this surprised me, and there is a four way tie for second :P

So...please review! :P


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